A Different Day
by mustachey5
Summary: One shot based on 5x25 (inspired by Luckystarpham) Steve has a date for the wedding?


A/N: Just a little oneshot based on 5x25, prompt was provided by luckystarpham- thank you for your on going support and I hope you enjoy ;) Review= love, they make my day :D Enjoy reading and aloha!

* * *

 **A Different Day**

"So, you bringing a date to the wedding?" Danny asked, glancing over at Steve. He would never admit it to Steve, but since Catherine's departure he'd been worried about him. He withdrew slightly and became more insular, he began to revert back to the robotic, emotionless man he'd drawn his gun on all those years ago. Then everything with Wo Fat had gone down and Danny was really worried that that might just push Steve over the edge, and yet he held on. Steve had become snarkier and their friendly carguments had started to turn a little nasty. Maybe it wasn't Danny's place to worry, Steve was a grown man- as he so often reminded him, but damn it, he didn't want to end up losing another brother.

"I am actually." Steve nodded

"Really?" Danny asked in surprise as he turned in his seat to look at Steve fully. So Steve had a new lady friend...interesting.

"Yeah" Steve replied, fighting back a grin.

"Okay, now I know something is up, you, if I'm not mistaken, are smiling." Danny laughed, a grin erupting on his face, because that goofy grin on McGarrett's face had been sorely missed as of late

"I smile" Steve said indignantly, though the corners of his mouth were still twitching up into a smile.

"No, you do not, I don't think you were born with the required facial muscles to smile." Danny rebuffed, because seriously, Steve never smiled, or very rarely at least.

"I smile Danny."

"Uh huh?" Danny nodded.

"What now?" Steve sighed in confusion, turning to look at Danny who sat grinning to himself in his seat.

"You got that same goofy look on your face" Danny grinned away, because he knew that silly look on his partner's face looked familiar.

"It's called a smile Danny, I thought we covered this, like 5 seconds ago?" Steve sighed again.

"No, this is a different look - You got some last night, didn't you?" Danny said and laughed at the shocked look on Steve's face. Steve froze momentarily because really? Was it _that_ obvious?

"I don't kiss and tell Daniel." Steve finally answered and prayed that Danny would drop it.

"So that's a resounding yes then, anyone I know?" Danny exclaimed happily, and okay maybe it was slightly odd being so happy that his best friend getting laid, but he was happy for the guy- God knows Steve needed to unwind.

"Can we drop it, please?" Steve begged

"So it is someone I know!" Danny exclaimed happily.

"I said please" Steve muttered weakly as he took a corner faster than necessary.

"Slow down would you, I have a daughter to look after." Danny said, barely managing to refrain from raising his voice as he braced himself against the door.

"Will you quit with the backseat driving?" Steve shot back, taking another corner at speed, and okay, maybe he didn't need to be going quite so fast.

"I'm in the passenger seat." Danny muttered and Steve simply glared at him, barley resisting the urge to drive even faster just to piss Danny off. They sat in silence for a while, the bright scenery whizzing past and Steve prayed that that was the end of the conversation.

"So this date you're taking to the wedding..." Clearly not.

"Danny..."

"I'm assuming she is the same person as the one you were getting right with last night?" Danny continued and Steve sighed, accepting that Danny simply wouldn't let this drop.

"Yes Danny, it is the same woman." Steve said as he slowed down, pulling up to the airport.

"Interesting..." Danny smiled and Steve didn't think he'd ever been happier to arrive at a crime scene.

* * *

The nuclear weapon was missing, they had no new leads and one Steven J McGarrett was far from happy. They'd been so damn close to finding it and stopping whatever the hell was going on it angered him. He hated when missions fell apart, he played them over and over in his head trying to see where and why everything went wrong, working out how to stop that mistake happening again. But this time, there was no mistake, there was nothing to correct nor anything new to try. The nuke was gone and that was it. He sighed as he flipped through a pile of forms that lay on his desk, all that was left to show for their day's work was this mountain of paperwork, yet he couldn't let go of this whispering voice that told him it wasn't all over yet. They couldn't have fled the island with a nuclear weapon undetected, could they? He dropped the stack of papers and ran his hands down his tired face, a knock on his office door drew him from his misery.

"Daniel." He greeted as the shorter man strolled into his office.

"Hey, I finished of the last of my paperwork, was wondering if you wanted to grab a beer?" He asked, leaning on the leather chair that sat opposite Steve's desk.

"Thanks man but I think I'm just going to head home after this.." Steve shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, trying to stave of the building headache.

"Okay, we'll figure this out eventually man, don't let it eat you up."

"I won't" Steve nodded, thought they both knew that wasn't true. They fell into a comfortable silence as Steve attempted to read through the paperwork that Kono had finished earlier.

"Is it Ellie?" Danny asked after a long pause.

"Is what Ellie?" Steve asked looking up from the piles of papers, only half paying attention to what Danny was saying.

"Was Ellie the lady keeping you company last night?" Danny continued, dropping down into the plush chair opposite Steve.

"What?! No!" Steve spluttered.

"Oh, you guys just seemed...you know. I thought you guys were going somewhere." Danny said, a surprised look on his face, and damn it Steve thought they'd dropped this conversation.

"She's a friend Danny." He explained slowly, picking up the papers again and trying to resume his reading.

"You spend a lot of time together.." Danny reasoned

"Again, that's what _friends_ do, they spend time together..."

"If you insist." Danny shrugged, picking at a loose thread on the arm of the chair.

"She's just a friend Danny." Steve sighed, how more plainly could he put it? Danny nodded, and dropped his head to the back of the chair.

"Is it Anna?"

"Anna? Who the hell is Anna?" Steve asked, dropping the paper he was holding and sighing, he was getting nowhere with the paperwork, especially not when Danny was playing twenty questions with him. It had been a long day and all he wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.

"Anna, the girl from downstairs, she does admin work for HPD, has a massive crush on you/" Danny explained.

"Never met her" Steve said as he pushed up from his chair, shoving piles of paper around to try and find his car keys.

"She was up here like half an hour ago dropping of that paperwork!" Danny said, raising his voice.

"Oh...I don't remember her." Steve said with a tired shrug and ignored the way Danny shook his head in despair.

* * *

Steve sighed as he slammed the car door closed, he was disappointed with the way the case had turned out and he knew, with a nuke missing on his island, that he would be getting very little sleep that night. He trudged up his drive and unlocked the front door, keying in the alarm code as he kicked the heavy door closed with his foot.

"Hi" The warm, familiar voice greeted him and he smiled as he turned around.

"Hey" He greeted as she walked up to him.

"How did the case go?" She asked as she looped her hands round his neck, pulling him down for a gentle kiss.

"Not great." He replied, sliding his arms round her waist.

"I'm sorry" She whispered, squeezing the back of his neck in a comforting gesture. He nodded and sighed, dropping his head to rest in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent, letting the feeling of her calm him and wash away the stresses of the day.

"You didn't have much food in so I was thinking of ordering takeout?" She suggested and he could feel the vibrations of her chest as she spoke.

"Sounds good to me" He agreed, pulling back slightly and dropping another kiss on her lips, it was like he couldn't help himself, she was that addictive.

"You can go for a swim, it'll take a while for the food to arrive." She suggested, combing her fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

"Thank you" He whispered and with a final kiss he turned and jogged up the stairs for his board shorts.

* * *

"Thank you for dinner" Steve whispered, the quiet of the bedroom echoing around them.

"Good, it took a lot of effort ordering that takeout." She said with a smile, running a finger down his side, tickling his bare ribs.

"You're not as funny as you think you are, you know that?" He teased, rolling back over to rest his head on her bare shoulder, his breath tickling the skin of her collar bone.

"I am too" She rebuffed, running a hand through his short hair and he laughed softly, lifting his head to look up at her. Her face framed by the halo of dark hair spread across the pillows. She was breath-takingly beautiful.

"What am I going to do with you?" He whispered, lifting a hand and running it through the soft waves. Her hair was soft as silk and always smelt of the citrus shampoo she used, which was quite coincidentally Steve's favourite smell.

"Nice things I hope" She whispered back, sliding down the bed till they were face to face, their noses brushing together in little eskimo kisses.

"You're really here" He breathed as he moved his hand down to gently cup her cheek, rubbing his thumb against her soft skin.

"I'm here" She whispered back, taking his hand in hers and interlacing their fingers, squeezing his hand before lifting his hand to her mouth and placing soft kisses on each of his knuckles.

"I missed you" He admitted brushing his lips against hers, not kissing her, just touching, feeling, remembering. He'd missed her so much, from every aspect of his life, he wasn't sure how he'd managed to live without her.

"I missed you too" She replied, her breath warm against his lips. He sighed and rolled onto his back, pulling her to curl into his side.

"Stay...please?" He pleaded, his voice so quiet she almost missed it.

"Steve..."

"I know you said not to wait for you but I did... you can't leave again.." He continued, pleading with her.

"I'm not going anywhere Steve, I promise. While I was away I finally realised where I was supposed to be, what I was supposed to do with my life. My home is here, in Hawaii... with you." She finished, brushing her hand against his cheek, the scruff tickling her delicate skin.

"You're staying?" He asked, not quite daring to believe he had heard her right.

"If you'll have me" She said and he rolled them over, pining her beneath him as he gazed into her eyes. He let out a breathe he didn't even realise he had been holding and beamed at her.

"Always"

* * *

"Steeeve" She breathed, biting her lip to hold on a moan. The things this man could do with his...

"Steve?" Danny's voice startled them and they broke apart. She was sat on the kitchen counter with Steve stood between her legs, having just returned from his morning swim. Shooting each other panicked looks they hurriedly tried to pull on their previously discarded clothes as Steve stepped away from her, willing his body to calm down before this got _really_ embarrassing.

"Shh" Steve whispered, placing a finger to her lips as she tried to suppress a giggle.

"Hey Steve, I..." Danny began as he entered the kitchen and froze.

"Catherine?" Danny spluttered, not entirely believing his eyes.

"Hi Danny" She waved from over Steve's shoulder, still trying to hide behind his body as she buttoned up the final buttons on her shirt. Well, Steve's shirt to be precise...

"Hi" He replied, still frozen in place. Steve cleared his throat, bringing Danny's attention back to him.

"What are you doing here Danny?" Steve asked, fighting to keep his voice neutral, though if his voice didn't betray his current discomfort, his swimming trunks might.

"I came to say hi, see if you wanted to grab breakfast... though it seems you have had a far better offer..." Danny explained, smiling at Catherine as she slid off the counter behind Steve.

"Well, why don't you two do just that and I'll grab a shower? Yeah?" Catherine suggested as she slipped round Steve and darted for the door shooting Danny a smile as she went. Steve watched her leave with a forlorn expression, he really didn't want to have to deal with Danny and his opinions so early in the morning, especially not alone... or in his current...mood.

"What just happened?" Danny questioned and Steve sighed heavily all arousal draining away.

"Can we...?" Steve asked, nodding towards the lanai- he needed the fresh air, and Danny nodded, heading outside. This was really not how Steve had envisioned his morning going.

"So Catherine..." Danny drawled, nodding back to the house as Steve stepped outside.

"Yeah." He nodded, not quite sure what else to say.

"Why didn't you say it was Catherine?" Danny asked gently, watching his friend shrug his shoulders as he dropped into a deck chair.

"I didn't know what you'd say" Steve shrugged again and began to pick at a lose thread on his shorts. He was happy that Catherine was back, so happy, his life had felt empty without her. But he knew that Danny held a bit of a grudge with the way everything in Afghanistan went down and was worried what his friend would say.

"When did she get back?" Danny asked, folding his arms across his chest, a frown on his face.

"Day before yesterday." Steve replied and Danny nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"How long is she staying?" He asked quietly gaze dropping to his shoes.

"She's back for good." Steve answered and Danny paused for a second, regarding him with a pensive gaze.

"Really? She's not going to go running of to some other 'Stan when another kid goes missing?" He said with a little more acrimony in his voice than he actually meant.

"You don't want her back?" Steve challenged, and okay maybe Danny had sounded a little too bitter there.

"I didn't say that, I just want to check she's staying here, that I won't end up having to deal with you getting all grouchy with everyone again"

"Yeah...she said she finally realised where she was meant to be" Steve explained, unable to hide the smile at her words.

"She's not going anywhere Danny...except for the wedding this afternoon, if that's okay with you?" Steve replied sarcastically.

"Good. I just wanted to make sure, that's all. I like her Steve, you know I do, she's good for you, calms you down, makes you nearly human." Danny said finally, the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"I guess I should leave you two to continue getting reacquainted then" He said and turned to leave, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder.

"I never blamed her Steve, I know you think I held a grudge against her, but I didn't. She's the best thing to happen to you buddy... don't let her go." He said, his voice quiet and Steve squeezed his arm in silent thanks. Danny offered him a knowing smile before he turned and left. Steve stood, watching him walk back through the house and then turned his gaze up to his bedroom window and smiled, she was finally back. She was home.


End file.
